Articles

4 Areas of Improvement for 2021

It’s remarkable the sort of havoc a measly global pandemic can wreck on one’s plans for the year. No, I’m being glib. I’m fortunate to have remained healthy, busy, and employed throughout the year, and...

When you’re out shooting, what draws your attention?

Ultimately, I’m looking to create images that are beautiful, and which contain moments that matter. That seems pretty simple on the surface but since both of these criteria are entirely subjective it’s really about what...

How to Properly Critique a Photograph

Some more privacy stuff that you probably don’t care about

Switching up your POV for a more interesting image

Contact Sheet – SURF SCHOOL

TMI about my history with Fujifilm cameras

I wrote this article in response to some questions Frank Chacho Quezada had for me about my opinions on the X-Pro2 and X-Pro3. I do field this sort of question with some frequency and so...

The importance of knowing what you like

A post-processing dilemma. When “too much” actually looks pretty great.

Some of you might feel that this is quite overcooked. Others may like it a lot. I’ve received a lot of very positive reviews and I’ve sold this print and handful of times as well....

An interesting note on post-production weirdness

A day after I had posted my Martin Parr Rome story, one of our members here, David B. reached out to ask about a weird visual artifact that appears on one of Parr’s images. Check...

Fotographi A Roma – My Martin Parr story

I’ve been a really big Martin Parr fan for many years. His were some of the first images I can remember staring into, being mesmerized by. Surely there are more mesmerizing photographers and I’ve come...

Elliott Erwitt’s NEW YORK – Book Review

In the spirit of our weekly Masters of Street Photography series, I wanted to write a quick review of Elliot Erwitt’s New York collection, from teNeues, one of my personal favorite photography books from my...

Thinking Back: My First Impactful Image

Somebody posted a question into one of countless Facebook groups to which I belong. That question was what image had the biggest impact on you? I saw it early in the day on my phone...

FREE PRINTS does FREE BOOKS too!

Hey everybody. As most of you know, I’m a big fan of printing out my images, and since Eduardo turned me onto the FREE PRINTS app, I’ve been all in with them, taking advantage of...

Bringing a D-I-E approach to making street photographs

I sometimes find myself able to synthesize a complex process into a single process or idea. This doesn’t happen very often but I’m generally pretty pleased with myself when it happens. This was not one...

Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

I recently ordered myself a copy of Nan Goldin’s seminal collection The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, and I was somehow left feeling that I was the last guy to the party. As Wikipedia describes, more...

You Got It or You Don’t – Maestro or Noodler?

Immersion and the Subtle Art of Honing Your Craft – Becoming a Better Street Photographer

I’ve seen students do the work and put in the hours but don’t seem to get any better, and I’ve seen them experience some sort of sudden unexpected breakthrough which then fosters significant improvements in...

Larry Cohen’s Baltimore car crash image

I came across a photograph on Instagram today that got me thinking about how different people will see (and photograph) a similar scene in a very different way. The image was taken by Larry Cohen,...

How to make my Instagram secret sauce

I’ve been answering this question quite a lot on Instagram lately and decided to write a how-to guide here to point people to. Here’s the question: “When you post it is accompanied by another close...

David Alan Harvey is Blowing My Damned Mind (again)

I saw an ad on Instagram advertising a free hour-long lecture David Alan Harvey did for Chase Jarvis’ CreativeLive channel and I definitely couldn’t pass it up. At 14 minutes in he definitely raised my...

Always Work Your Shot – Contact Sheet – Princess and the King

“Working the Shot” is a pretty straightforward concept. It says that you you shouldn’t just run up to anything that catches your eye, photograph it and call it done. Instead, you should consider staying with...

3 Different Stories in Under 5 Seconds

I’ve been thinking a lot about storytelling lately and how much influence my preconceived notions can have on me finding what I seek when I’m out working the street, or more importantly, what effect my...